Run It Fast®

We asked on Twitter (@runitfast) where you were running this weekend and 17 of you responded!

Joshua Holmes – Several mixed training runs of trail, road, and cross country track.

Robert Boluyt – ARR Desert Classic 30K, Phoenix AZ

Run SMART Project – We’ve got some clients running the @nyrr Ted Corbitt 15k in Central Park on Saturday

mygolfclubs – otter creek trail run in Brandenburg ky

G – Yarmouth MA Police’s Blue Christmas 4.2 mile.

Monkey Trent – Lookout Mountain 50 miler, Chattanooooga, TN.

Kiki – I’m participating in the Santa Hustle in Indianapolis, IN tomorrow!

Newport Run&Chug – Beat Santa 5k in Portsmouth, RI Sunday 10am!

Teal & Beth – In my neighborhood!! =)

Kidney Racer – 13 miles along Lake Michigan in MKE, WI. Training for@RunMiami. Actually had a chunk of ice form on my fleece & hat last wkd.

Mary Beth – at home. 20+ miler. Getting ready for the goofy. Yoi!

Lisa Gonzales – I’m doing my last double before I taper for the 12HR! 22 miles on Sat & 10 miles on Sun both here in town. 15 days & counting…

Helena – Deerfield Beach, FL. Aiming for 16 miles!

Kelly Baker – Planning a 20 miler on the W&OD Trail in NoVA this weekend. It’s my fav spot for long runs!

Suzieb2 – Running in Albany, NY “Last Run 5K” – which goes thru the Holiday Lights display in Washington Park

David Juraidini – at México City in a park called “el sope”

Susan Eastman – 6-7 mile run tomorrow in Centerville, Mass; Grand Prix race #3 Sunday at Yarmouth Police Dept. – 4.2 miles

Those of us that were lucky enough to survive the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon or Half Marathon (Full Story) earlier this month received an email from Competitor (company that puts the race on) today offering us $50 off the entry fee for Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona that takes place on January 15, 2011.

1. Offer was made via email today, Dec 13, for a race on January 15, 2012.  Very tough and short window for runners to plan and arrange travel/training.
2. $135 – $50 is still $85 to run Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona. Add in travel (gas, plane, rental car) and hotel and you are going to be down $500-$1,000 to run a race you didn’t want to run in the first place (or else you would have already signed up for it.)  $50 off is a small percentage of the cost it would actually take to run the race.
3. Almost all RNR LV runners that plan to run RNR AZ have already signed up and paid full price for it.
4. Offer was likely made knowing that very few could accept it.  That way Competitor can say, ‘Hey, we tried to make up for our mistakes at Las Vegas.”
5. Competitor/Rock ‘n’ Roll is not going to get the benefit of the doubt from anyone anymore.
6. Most runners I’ve talked to seem to agree. Insincere offer. Some deleted it immediately as they broke out the SMH!
7. Some believe it’s a way to fill a race that hasn’t sold out yet.
8. While some runners have sworn to me they will never run another RNR event even if it was free.
9. Runners by and large are whiners or running divas, but what went down in Vegas was absurd. After the merge, every runner’s safety and health was in peril unless you were an elite or at the head of the pack for either race.
10. The offer would have had legs if it had been for $50 off of any RNR race in 2012.

Competitor is right to offer something to try to smooth over what went down on December 4, 2011, but this offer is coming across to runners as an offer that most are unable to accept for a variety of reasons.

What happened that night in Vegas for sure didn’t stay in Vegas.  Competitor’s reputation, which was already mud among marathon veterans, is at an all-time low with almost all runners that were in Vegas.

40,000 runners ran that night. Those 40,000 runners have lots of running friends. Word of mouth is believable due to the heavy amount of complaints coming from an array of runners and stories on the news and in print.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Facebook page has been an endless ticker of negativity and hatred towards Competitor.

The CEO of Competitor, Peter Englehart, called me late last week and he did seem sincere in listening and wanting to find out everything that went wrong in Las Vegas so they could make changes for 2012.

I bet you can’t MERGE this offer with any other discount codes!!

Agree or disagree? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.

How bad was Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas? Nightmare on the Strip: Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon and Half Marathon Full of Sin

Dirty Rumors from the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon

2011 Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & Half Marathon Medals

[photo of runners trapped inside the Mandalay Bay. via A Trail Runner’s Blog]

Mental Floss compiled a list of  11 Ways to Cheat While Running a Marathon.  Instead of teasing it as advice we’ll call them for what they are…CHEATERS!

Here is a look at that list:

10 Biggest Marathon Cheaters/Ways to Cheat a Marathon (Full Article on Mental Floss)

1. Do Not Run Most of It: Rosie Ruiz (Boston, 1980)
2. Get Someone Else to Run it for You: Xiamen Students (China, 2010)
3. Have Your Manager Give You a Ride: Fred Lorz (St. Louis, 1904)
4. Skip Miles 13-23: Anthony Gaskell (London, 2010)
5. Blow off the Checkpoints: Roberto Madrazo (Berlin, 2007)
6. Grab a Bus: Rob Sloan (Kielder, 2011)
7. Skip Ahead to the Part With the Prize Money: Martin Franklin (New York, 2001)
8. Hop on a Bicycle: The Montreal Biker (2011)
9. Hop in a News Van: Dane Patterson (Arizona, 2009)
10. (and 11.) Split the Course With Your Brother (and Use PEDs): The Motsoeneng Brothers (South Africa, 1999)

Read detailed descriptions of the atrocity each runner committed to cheat a marathon at Mental Floss (LINK)!

I’d add attaching your timing/computer chip/D(B) tag to another runner’s leg or shoe to the list above.

I think we will always think of Rosie Ruiz when it comes to marathon cheating even if the sport has a 100 more cheating scandals over the next 20 years.  She is like the gold standard when it comes to cheating a marathon.

Perhaps marathons across the country should all retire her bib number (W50), not out of a sign of respect, but as a reminder to how awful it is to cheat a marathon.

No, that is not Rosie and former President George W. Bush after the 1980 Boston Marathon. That is Rosie and the legit overall winner Bill Rodgers.

Pop Quiz: Who was the actual and legitimate female winner at the 1980 Boston Marathon?

The answer is Jacqueline Gareau with a time of 2:34:58.

Jackie also won the 1979 National Capital Marathon in Ottawa, Canada in 2:47:58 and the 1988 Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota with a time of 2:43:27.

Here is the beautiful, colorful, yet simple finisher’s medal from the 35th Annual Rocket City Marathon that took place in Huntsville, Alabama on December 12, 2011.

The Rocket City Marathon is an extremely well run marathon that is put on by elite ultramarathoner Dink Taylor and his wife.

Timothy Agee ran it fast, finishing with a time of 3:18:44. Congrats to Tim on a new PR!!

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal photo submitted by Timothy Agee. Follow him on Twitter @timagee]

Sweet finisher’s medal from the Latin Music Miami Beach 1/2 Marathon that was held on December 11, 2011.  (A Rock ‘n’ Roll/Competitor event.)

This was the third half marathon run by Shawna Block.  She finished with a time of 2:23:51.  She has lost 48 pounds since she started running and is an inspiration to many that it can be done.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal photo submitted by Shawna. Follow her on Twitter @ssulax33]

Here is the colorful and festive finisher’s medal from the 2011 Holualoa Tucson Marathon that took place in Tucson, Arizona on December 11, 2011.

A great race and super fast place to try to set a PR.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal photo submitted by Scott Stader. Follow him on Twitter @scottstader]

Scott Jurek, the most famous ultramarathoner in United States history, is at the Soochow International Ultra-Marathon 24-Hour Track Invitational in Taiwan attempting to break the 24-hour record of 188 miles.

The race started a couple hours ago at 8pm ET.

Connie Gardner is representing the woman for the USA at the event.

Follow Scott Jurek on Twitter @scottjurek

Soochow International Ultra-Marathon 24-Hour Track Invitational in Taiwan UPDATES

(REFRESH for Updates)

Final Results (unofficial) – 1. Ryoichi Sekiya 261.2K, 2. Mami Kudo (1st female) 255.2K, 3. Emmanuel Fontaine 254.4K, 4. Tsou, Shuang-His 238.4K, 5. Yang, Hung-Hui 230.4K —– 20. Scott Jurek 170.4K —- 23. Connie Gardner (female) 155.6K —– 26. Valmir Nunes 132.8K

5:28pm – 1. Sekiya 236.4K, 2. Kudo (f) 230.8K, 3. Fontaine 227.2K

3:44pm – 1. Sekiya 220.0K, 2. Kudo (f) 216.0K, 3. Fontaine 209.2K….14. Jurek 170.4K

2:47pm – Jurek is back to 12th at 170.4K. Top 3: Sekiya 211.2K, Kudo (f) 206.8K, Fonatine 199.2K

1:35pm – Top 5 overall: Sekiya 199.6K, Kudo (f) 194.8K, Fontaine 186.8K, Flyer 182.4K, Shuang-His 180.0K —- Jurek 11th 169.6K

11:42am – I turn away for a few hours and the world is turned upside down. Nunes has fallen way back, down to 22nd place with 132.8K.  Ryoichi Sekiya has taken the lead with 181.6K.  Female Mami Kudo is the #1 female and 2nd overall with 177.2K.  Emmanuel Fontaine is in 3rd with 167.2K.  Jurek is back in 7th at 160.oK.

4:52am – Nearly 9 hours in…Jurek has dropped back to 3rd/4th with 104.0K (64.6 miles), tied with the lead woman Mami Kudo.  Nunes is in 1st with a sizable lead at 112.4K (69.84 miles).  2nd is Sekiya at 104.8K.  According to Jurek’s Twitter his ‘low’ spot is over as he feels rejuvenated, strong and ready to make a move.  Nearly 15 hours left to go.

1:36am – Last update as I catch some sleep. Nunes has increased his lead to 13 laps. He is now at 73.2K. Jurek is at 68.0K and Ryoichi Sekiya is now in third with Bogar dropping back to the 5th spot. Mami Kudo is the top woman in 4th place with 65.6K.

1:00am – Nunes 65.6K, Jurek 61.2K, Bogar 59.6K. 11 lap lead for Nunes over Jurek at this point.  Connie Gardner is at 53.2K in 2nd place for the ladies. Leading lady, Mami Kudo is at 58.4K and in 5th place overall.

12:12am – Runners change track direction every 4 hours.

12:00am – Nunes now holds a 9 lap lead. 136 laps to Jurek’s 127 laps (54.8k to 51.2k). Bogar remains in third.

11:00pm – Nunes still holds a 2.8k lead with 102 laps (40.8K), Jurek now in 2nd 95 laps (38.0K), and Bogar also with 95 laps (38.0K). Connie is 82 laps (32.8K)

10:00pm – Brazils’ Valmir Nunes is off to the quick lead. He has put down 63 laps so far (25.2K). I had the chance to race with Nunes at the Strolling Jim 40 Miler a couple of years ago in Wartrace, TN. The guy is a machine. János Bogár is in 2nd place with 60 laps (24.0K) and Jurek is in third just behind with 59 laps (23.6K).

Connie Gardner is currently the 2nd female 51 laps (20.4K).

There has been a lot of filth to come out the the 2011 Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon and 1/2 Marathon that took place this past Sunday night in Sin City.

A lot of it has been true while some other tidbits seem exaggerated, distorted, or simply false.

Here are a few of the more scandalous rumors that I’ve come across in the past couple of days:

1. “read the comments on the rnr page. Kate (Gosselin) didn’t run the race. She was on the sidelines and riding to the checkpoints on someones tomos scooter and at every checkpoint, the announcers gave platitudes to Kate and none of the other runners. Pissed many of the committed runners off.
   It was a paid appearance to garner support for a race and a charity that isn’t a 501c3 organization and like everything in Las Vegas, what happens there, stays there. Her bodyguard didn’t walk the entire course carrying a pink handbag. He was on a scooter pacing her for 3 miles and then picking her up and pacing the race to keep the shoe tag legit. When they came to a checkpoint at 500 feet, Kate jumped off as the crowd and contestants were too busy to notice. Kate made all the check points. She actually completed the marathon but she didn’t do it toe to heel. – Comment by Kim left on Reality TV Star Kate Gosselin Finishes RNR Las Vegas Marathon
2. Shenanigans by the Competitor CEO and his wife, in taking 1st Place AG for the Half! As exposed by journalist Don Pemberton – “calling Shenanigans on the CEO of Competitor Group and his wife. They ran the Las Vegas half marathon together, as a wedding couple, supposedly attended the run-thru-wedding chapel on the course, and somehow both managed to win their age divisions with a 6:31 avg pace. They wore each other’s bib numbers – technically you can be DQ’d for wearing someone elses number. They have NO split times for the 5k and 10k marks. AND – their bib numbers indicate that they should have started in the last corral. How did they manage to run a 1:25:16 half marathon, starting in the last corral thus having to weave thru all the walkers, and attend a wedding?!? SHENANIGANS!!!!!!!” – Marathon Maniac FB page
3. The bananas were green! 😉 – Stated by 578 running divas on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Facebook Page

The above are just rumors being floated out there and haven’t been verified except for #3.  Although, some have stated that bananas had turned yellow by the time the last of the half marathoners had reached them.

Everything else that we know went wrong and made this event sub-par can be found in this post: The Nightmare on the Strip: Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & 1/2 Marathon Full of Sin

Have another dirty rumor from the most scandalous marathon of 2011? If so then drop it in the comments.

The 2011 Death Valley Trail Marathon was technically cancelled by the race director due to 70 MPH winds up in the Titus Canyon. However, that didn’t stop a group of us from meeting and deciding to hold the marathon ourselves.  About 40-50 runners went over to the canyon there in Death Valley, braved the winds, and ran a memorable marathon that none of us will ever forget.

[Medal photos submitted by Joshua Holmes. You can follow me on Twitter @bayou]

We asked on Twitter (@runitfast) where you were running this weekend and 17 of you responded!

Good luck to everyone running this weekend, especially all of you that are running your first 1/2, full, or any distance race.  Run It Fast!!!!

Joshua Holmes– @bayou – Charlie Reagan Memorial 5K in Milan “Go Bulldogs!!!”

Naomi Pipes – @NaomiPipes – Running the #YMCAJingleBellRun in Houston on Sunday 🙂

Laura Raeder – @LauraRaeder – Tuscon Marathon

David D – @bigcat48 – I’ll be in Grafton, IL at The Pere Marquette Endurance Trail 7.5 miler. Not a marathon, but may feel like one after I’m done! 🙂

Gerard Pescatore – @GPescatore – Nice, leisurely 5 miler on the beautiful Wissahickon trail in Philly

Fabrizio Colella – @Colellafabrizio – n italy special trail the hills of the piedmont barbera wine

Stephen G – @stepheng73 – Jingle Bell Run in downtown Houston.

Shawna – @ssulax33 – RnR Miami Half on Sunday! #LMMB

Lizzi Liz – @lizziliz38 – Weston FL Run for Tomorrow Half Marathon

Lisa Gonzales – @runlikeacoyote – 20 miler tomorrow and 10 miler on Monday, both on the hills close to home! Fun!

Kidney Racer – @kidneyracer – I’ve got 16 miles on the docket for Saturday morn. Likely going to happen alongside a chilly Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wis.

Kevin Erb – @kevinerb – Gingerbread Pursuit (4-miler) in #FortWayne tomorrow morning. Supposed to be quite nipply! http://ht.ly/7UlFf

Jeanie Olinger – @DovesFireMin – running my second post injury 5K – “faster than the pastor” for missions

David Flax – @reddsman – Jingle Bell 5K in Baltimore.

Claudia Keller – @socialmedialex– Sunday, Silvesterlauf, a 8.6km run in the heart of #Zürich (& raising money 4 #jrz www.jrz.ch, donations welcome!)

Kiki – @CapnKeeks – I’m running in the Reindeer Romp 4K in Louisville, KY.

Tianna Marshall – @TrunsLA – Holiday Half in Pomona!

Tim Bledsoe – @TimBledsoe – Running the Holiday Half marathon near Adidas HQ in Portland, OR

Petra Amrein – @peachA22 – anywhere my chicken legs will take me! #reallytri-ing